Ball-type dispenser



Aug. 29, 1961 R. s. SCHULTZ BALL-TYPE DISPENSER Filed Dec. 18, 1959 IN VEN TOR. EOBEET JTfPbE/V 60701 72' A 77'OENEY6 United States Patent FiledDec. 18, 1959, Ser. No. 860,403 5 Claims. (Cl. 1'5--'572) This inventionrelates to dispensing packages, and especially to those having anattached applicator of the ball or roll-on type.

There have appeared on the market a number of such dispensers in whichthe ball, is housed in a ring of stiff but somewhat resilient plasticmaterial such a polyethylene, and these have proved fairly effective inoperation up to a point. One of the main problems, however, arises fromthe fact that many products such as deodorant lotions have the propertyof drying between the ball and the housing so that the ball is no longermobile and its intended operation is defeated.

One approach to a solution of this problem has been to attempt toprovide a seal between the overcap and the container neck or shoulderwhich will exclude air and prevent the drying. However, structures alongthis line developed to date have not proved entirely reliable.

Another approach is illustrated in United States Patent 2,749,566wherein means on the overcap is designed to engage against the upper lipof the flexible plastic ball housing and cam or otherwise force the sameinto peripheral sealing contact with the ball so as to seal oh? thespace between the ball and housing whether the overcap seals firmlyagainst the container neck or not. In certain respects this approach hasproved fruitful. However, it has been discovered that when certainresilient or semiresilient plastics such as polyethylene are subject tophysical deformation for extended periods, their flow characteristicsare such that they no longer recover as well as could be desired.Accordingly, when containers operating on the principle of the saidpatent have been standing for extended periods, e.g. in storage, the lipof the ball housing tends to become distorted and undersized in innerdiameter, so that the metering passage between the ball and the housingmay become undersized or disappear with the consequence thatinterference with proper dispensing of the product is noted.

It is an object of the present invention, therefore, to provide a ballor roll-on dispenser arrangement in which the space between the ball andthe housing can be easily and reliably sealed to prevent drying out ofthe product therein and freezing of the ball, but in which no seriousdistortion of the lip of the housing results from the sealing action, sothat proper dispensing can be expected even when the container stands insealed condition for extended periods.

According to the present invention this object is achieved by providinga plastic housing for the ball having an upstanding-wall with a narrowupwardly directed free edge or lip lying closely adjacent the ballsurface but spaced slightly therefrom to properly meter the product, andan overcap for threaded connection with the container neck andconstructed with a downwardly facing seating groove for said lipdimensioned to match the lip diameter so as to make sealing engagementtherewith and also to firmly fasten the lip in its designed position sothat the possibility of distortion due to scaling is prevented.

Additional objects, features and advantages will appear hereinafter asthe description proceeds.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is an exploded elevation of a container and ball dispenseraccording to the present invention, together with an overcap therefor;

ice

FIG. 2 is a section to a larger scale of the neck portion of thecontainer of FIG. 1 showing the ball retainer ring and the overcap insealing position;

FIG. 3 is a detail section to a still larger scale illustratingparticularly the nature of the engagement between the overcap and thelip of the ball retainer ring.

Referring to the drawing, the present invention is concerned withdispensing containers such as container 11 arranged to hold a flowableproduct. To this end the mouth of the container is closed by a fittingor housing 13 in which is carried and loosely retained a ball 15 usuallyof rigid material such as glass or a rigid organic plastic. An overcap17 is shown for covering the ball when not in use, and the same isdesigned for threaded connection with the threads 19 on the neck of thecontainer or on the fitting 13, in this case shown as being on theformer.

In the presently disclosed form of the invention, the fitting 13 is aring of resilient plastic material, for example polyethylene. The mouthof the container is provided with an exterior peripheral rib 21 whilethe ring 13 has a matching internal groove 23 so that the two can bejoined by a snap fit providing a good seal against accidental escape ofthe product and making the ring 13, in effect, an extension orcontinuation of the container neck. At about the level of the containermouth, the ring 13 carries an inwardly extending ledge or flange 25whose internal diameter is slightly less than the diameter of the ball15 so that the latter will be supported therein. Above the ledge 25, thering comprises a cylindrical wall 27 which embraces the midsection ofthe ball and has a top opening slightly smaller in diameter than theball diameter so that the ball must be forced into place within fitting13 and is retained therein until intentionally forced out of the ring13.

The ring is kept as nearly as possible to the size of the ball, with theWall 27 and especially the free upper lip or edge 29 thereof being keptas thin and as smooth as possible to prevent interference with parts ofa receiving surface which the user seeks to bring into contact with theball for application of the product thereto, especially for applicationof lotions or the like to soft parts of the person of the user.

It can be seen that within the wall 27, and between the same and theball 15 is small annular chamber, 30, semicapillary in radial dimension,which will hold a small amount of the product to be dispensed and keepthe surface of the ball moistened therewith.

In order to seal this chamber against evaporation during storage, theovercap 17, which is preferably although not necessarily of rigidmaterial, is formed with an annular internal boss 31. The boss has alower transverse surface which is formed with a downwardly facing groove33 dimensioned precisely to meet and engage with the rounded upper edge29 of the wall 27 and to apply a downward sealing pressure thereto andsimultaneously to locate and rigidly retain the edge 29 at the exactspacing with respect to the ball surface which it normally enjoys infree condition. The boss 31 is shown as including also a spheroidal orfrustoconical inner surface 35' which may engage with the ball 15 andhelp to center the same in the ring 13, but it will be understood thatthe engagement between lip 29 and groove 33 is the one of primaryimportance. It can be seen that the engagement of the surface 35 withthe ball is less critical than the engagement between the groove 33 andthe lip 29, for the former engagement can, to some extent, depress theball against the resilient action of the flange 25 until the groove andlip are properly seated, the latter within the former.

In operation the container 11 is filled with product, the fitting 13 issnapped over the neck of the container with its groove 23 sealinglyreceiving the annular rib 21 thereof. The ball 15 may be snapped intothe ring 13 either before or after its installation on the container 11.When the container is used by inverting it and rolling the ball 15 overa surface to which the product is to be applied, the chamber 30 becomesfilled with the product which then remains within the chamber when thecontainer is again turned upright. When it is desired to close thecontainer for storage, the overcap 17 is placed on the neck, andthreaded downwardly on the threads 19 of the container neck. This bringsthe locating and sealing groove 33 of the overcap into sealingrelationship with the lip 29 of the ring 13, closing off the chamber 30to outside air. Thus the product in the chamber 30 remains moist andusable and when the cap is removed for the next use, the ball 15 will bein freely rotatable condition. Likewise the lip 29 is firmly heldagainst any distortion which might impair its elfectiveness for meteringthe product in case the overcap should be left in place for an extendedperiod, as in the case of warehouse or shelf storage before sale.

While the present invention has been particularly described with regardto a resilient ring or attachment for a rigid container, it will ofcourse be understood that the principles set forth are equallyapplicable to an arrangement wherein the ball holding and supportingportions are formed integrally with and as a part of a resilient plasticcontainer.

It is thought that the invention and many of its attendant advantageswill be understood from the foregoing description, and it will beapparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction andarrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe invention or sacrificing all of its material advantages, the formhereinbefore described being merely a preferred embodiment thereof.

I claim:

1. A dispensing device comprising a container having a neck, a portionof which includes a housing of stiff but resilient plastic material; adispensing ball loosely supported in said housing, the housing having athin upstanding wall surrounding the ball and defining between the balland itself an annular reservoir for product to be dispensed andterminating in a circular lip slightly smaller 4 in diameter than thediameter of the ball to retain the same within said housing with a minorportion of the ball protruding therebeyond'for dispensing contact with areceiving surface; an overcap engaged with said neck; mutuallyengageable retention means on said overcap and neck for holding theovercap in a closed position on said neck, and an annular formation onthe interior of said overcap presenting a downwardly facingconfiguration complementing the configuration of said lip and sealablyengaging the same when the overcap is in closed position, saidcomplementary means being dimensioned to immobilize said lip insubstantially its normal free dimension and configuration, and preventduring storage of the container any deformation of the lip tending tochange its relation to the ball.

2. A device as defined in claim 1 in which said neck portion forming thehousing is detachable from the container and consists of a ring of stiffbut resilient plastic material having a tightly sealing interference fitwith the remainder of the container.

3. A device as defined in claim 1 in which the lip of the housingpresents in cross section a smoothly rounded nose, and the annularformation on the overcap includes a complementary annular groove of ashape for snugly receiving the nose.

4. A device as defined in claim 3 in which the interior of the cap alsoincludes annular engaging means for guiding the ball into a centeredposition as the smoothly rounded nose moves into said complementaryannular groove in said cap.

5. A device as defined in claim 1 in which the interior of the cap alsoincludes annular engaging means for guiding the ball into a centeredposition as the circular lip moves into cooperative relation with thedownwardly facing annular formation on the interior of said cap.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,700,784 De Brock Feb. 1, 1955 2,749,566 Thomas June 12, 1956 2,807,817Ackerman Oct. 1, 1957 2,823,403 Whitney Feb. 18, 1958 2,910,712 Schaichet al. Nov. 3, 1959

